People & Inspiration

Daily Diaries: 3 Discouragements Every Aspiring Writer Will Hear

Becoming a writer isn’t easy. And we don’t mean it’s difficult because the actual writing is challenging. Although, that’s one. However, what makes it even harder is the fact that it’s not really the most celebrated career choice, and you will stumble upon many discouraging remarks along the way.

Believe us when we say that we’ve been through this, and it’s certainly not pretty. This is why we’ve decided to round them up for you so that you know exactly how to handle these tricky remarks:

1. "Why?"

It’s funny when your peers announce that they want to be a lawyer, a doctor, or an accountant, and they are usually greeted with affirmations and well-wishes. On the other hand, the same doesn’t seem to happen to you when you want to be a writer. For some reason, people would always ask you why with a concerned tone, as if there is something wrong with your aspiration and a valid reason is needed.

How to deal with it: Don’t answer if you don’t want to. You are under no obligation to defend your dreams to anyone. You don't also have to question your inner passion just because other people don't understand it. Take pride that you know what you want, and just work towards crafting a path to get there.

2. "Writing won't financially sustain you."

We all know that writing isn’t the highest paying job in the world, and many people from the industry are barely making ends meet. However, what many tend to forget is that there are also those who have also made it big and are earning big bucks for their work. While struggling artists are common, successful ones aren’t not at all rare as well.

How to deal with it: Whether you fall into the two extremes or you end up somewhere in the middle of struggling and making it, the most important thing to hold onto is the fact that your ambition is more than just about money. Doing what you love is priceless as it is.

3. "Anyone can do it."

When you are an aspiring writer, you would most likely get the remark that anyone can do what you do with a thesaurus. While we agree that using a thesaurus is helpful, there is so much more to this career than just using big words. It requires the ability to put your heart and soul into words for everyone else to read, enjoy, and be inspired by.

How to deal with it: Keep in mind that if everyone can do it, everyone would’ve done it already, and the entire human race would’ve already reached George R.R. Martin status by now. But we don't see that happening ever, right? Know in your heart that your passion is unique, and that you can always contribute something different to your community and beyond.

Trust us, it would feel like the closer you inch to reaching your goal, the heavier the weight of these would be. The more you write, the more you put yourself up for criticisms that at times are not even close to constructive ones. You just need to drag both of your feet no matter how hard it gets and to keep on writing even if no one wants to read your work...yet.

In the end, you would realize that it doesn’t really matter if no one else believes in you and trusts what you can accomplish. All you really need is to have a solid faith in yourself and the path that you have chosen because your dreams are valid and worthy.